Financing & Subsidies

When you buy an electric car, you benefit from various premiums and subsidies that make buying and/or leasing more affordable than ever before.

Subsidies: what's availabile in germany?

The environmental subsidy for electric vehicles - also known as the innovation bonus - is still valid until 2025. You also receive a subsidy totalling €9,000 for your Opel electric car (up to a net list price of €40,000). This subsidy is made up of two parts: the state subsidy of €6,000 and a further €3,000 paid by the manufacturer - i.e. by us. For plug-in hybrids in the same price segment, the subsidy amounts to €6,750.

What bonuses are available in 2021?

Even in 2021, you can increase the contribution when buying your electric car further still, because some additional funding programmes are permitted in combination with the environmental bonus: The "Saubere Luft" (Clean Air) emergency programme of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), the fleet replacement programme "Sozial und Mobil" (Social and Mobile) of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMVI), the funding guideline for electromobility (BMVI), the funding guideline for market ramp-up NIP2 (BMVI), the climate protection offensive for SMEs (KfW) and several more regional funding programmes.

Environmental bonus: how to apply for it

You apply for funding for your electric car at the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BafA). All you need to do is upload the vehicle invoice. For leasing, the binding order for the leasing contract, the leasing contract and the internal calculation must be submitted. By the way, you can only benefit from the eco-rebate if you keep your subsidised electric car for at least nine months.

Electric car bonus: also for used cars

Since 2020, used electric cars have also been eligible for subsidies of up to €5,000. To qualify, the vehicle must have been registered since 5 November 2019 at the earliest, and the mileage must not exceed 15,000 kilometres. Additionally, the electric car must not have received any state subsidies in Germany or any other EU country so far - not even as a company car. There is also a premium for used plug-in hybrids: the subsidy here is up to €3,750.

E-leasing: why it's become less expensive

Government subsidies for electric cars and plug-in hybrids can be applied to the leasing rate - which means rates have dropped noticeably. The manufacturer's share of the bonus is charged immediately. In order to receive the government bonus, you must first pay a special additional payment equal to the amount of the government subsidy. You will then receive this back in the form of the environmental bonus applied for from the BAfA.

Subsidies & bonuses: can also be paid out retroactively

As part of the economic stimulus programme during the Corona crisis, the innovation bonus for electric cars was doubled by the federal government in July 2020. It also applies retroactively to car purchases since 3 June 2020. Incidentally, the electric car buying bonus had already been increased once before, in February 2020. It also applied retroactively to vehicles registered after 4 November 2019.

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Regional subsidies

Depending on the federal state, there are different subsidies that might be interesting for private individuals and businesses - these include subsidies for electric cars and charging stations at residential and commercial properties. But cities, municipalities and districts can also benefit, e.g. when it comes to the creation and rededication of parking spaces and bus lanes or the installation of fast charging stations.

Support for charging stations

The purchase and installation of a wallbox can be subsidised by KfW Bank - for private use. To qualify, this must be a smart wallbox that can be intelligently controlled and capable of communicating with other components of the electricity grid. This means that the charging power can be limited or delayed. The good thing is: if your Smart Wallbox has several charging points, you can have it subsidised to the tune of €900 per charging point.

Regional subsidies

E-license plate / environmental sticker

To qualify for an E-licence plate, a vehicle must be able to drive at least 40 km electrically - of course, this applies to all our electric cars and hybrid engines. By the way, from 2022 a distance of 60 km will be the prerequisite, and from 2025, it will be 80 km. With an E-plate, you can use parking spaces and parking bays for free in some cities and municipalities. However, you will still need an environmental sticker - whicht you can get from your Opel partner when you buy your car.

Car tax

Electric cars are also cheaper in terms of vehicle tax: for a weight of up to 3,500 kg, you only pay 50% of the tax that applies to combustion vehicles. The tax for electric cars is simply calculated according to the permissible gross vehicle weight (GVW) of the vehicle. For a weight of up to 2,000 kg, you pay 5.625 euros per 200 kg - this applies to all our electric cars. For a GVW between 2,001 and 3,000 kg, you pay 6.01 euros - this applies to certain variants of the Opel Vivaro-e.

Insurance

As a rule, the same policies are offered for electric cars as for models with combustion engines. In addition, we advise you to take out comprehensive insurance. Make sure that this ensures comprehensive protection for the expensive battery, that it covers damage that can be caused by the battery - and that towage is part of the policy.

Using the company car privately or driving it to work also has numerous tax advantages.

Using a company car for private purposes - the 0.25 per cent rule

For fully electric company cars with a value of up to € 60,000, the " 0.25 per cent" rule applies. This means that only 0.25% of the gross list price has to be taxed. Plug-in hybrids fall under a similar "0.5 per cent" rule. The taxes for electric cars are thus significantly lower than for company cars with combustion engines, for which 1% of the gross list price must be taxed per year.

Getto work with your electric company car

If you use your electric company car on more than 47 days a year for commuting to work, it must also be taxed. But here, too, the law favours electric cars and plug-in hybrids: instead of the usual 0.03 per cent, only 0.0075 per cent of the list price per kilometre of the single trip is due for electric cars.

From grants from the KFW Bank to premiums for e-leasing and funding opportunities from the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA): Here you can find specific information about your options.

E-leasing

The monthly leasing rates for electric cars and plug-in hybrids have fallen noticeably. The reason: the government subsidy (up to € 6,000 for an electric car, up to € 4,500 for plug-in hybrids) can be applied to the leasing rate.

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Kfw (german development bank)

The KFW Bank subsidises the purchase and installation of charging stations by €900 per charging point. Find out here whether your charging station is eligible for funding.

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Federal office for economics & export control

There are multiple funding options to help with the purchase of an electric car. Get all the details here and how to apply.

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How much is the subsidy for plug-in hybrids?

Purely electric cars with a net list price of up to € 40,000 are subsidised by up to € 9,000 (€ 6,000 from the federal government, € 3,000 from the manufacturer). For electric cars with a net list price of 40,000 - 65,000 € there is a subsidy of 7,500 € (5,000 € from the federal government, 2,500 € from the manufacturer). The federal share of the environmental bonus was doubled for registrations after 3.6.2020 as an innovation premium.

How much is the subsidy for plug-in hybrids?

Plug-in hybrids receive a subsidy of up to 6,750 euros. However, this is only paid out if they emit a maximum of 50 grams of CO₂ per kilometre - or have a minimum purely electric range of 40 kilometres. From 2022, the minimum range will be increased to at least 60 kilometres, and from 2025 at least 80 kilometres.

How long does the environmental bonus last?

The environmental bonus can be paid out until all subsidies have been used up - but at the latest until the end of 2025. It's done on a first come, first served basis. If the funds are still sufficient, the promotion of electric cars could also go further.

When do I get the premium for electric cars?

You have up to one year after buying your electric car to apply for the eco-rebate. Once the application has been sent, it takes several weeks for the BAfA to process it. In total, it can take two to three months before the money is in your account.

Why are electric cars subsidised by the state with a bonus?

EU member states want to reduce their CO₂ emissions by at least 55 per cent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. To achieve this, at least seven to ten million electric vehicles need to be on Germany's roads by 2030. For this reason, there is the "environmental bonus" worth billions. The Federal Government has decided on various support measures: Purchase incentives, tax breaks and subsidies to improve the charging infrastructure.

Also eligible: the installation of an AVAS

AVAS stands for "Acoustic Vehicle Alerting Systems". This acoustic warning system is intended to draw the attention of blind and visually impaired road users in particular to the particularly quiet electric cars. The installation is subsidised by 100 euros - but is already installed in all current Opel models.